Venture Patrol Letter

From MeritBadgeDotOrg

This article is about the Emblem for Venture Patrols.For the 'V' emblem awarded to youth and adult Varsity Scouts see Varsity Scout Letter.

Venture Patrol Letter

The letter is attached at the bottom frontcorner of the merit badge sash.The letter may also be worn onthe red wool Boy Scout Jac-shirt.

Created:

1989

Level:

Venturing

A Venture patrol letter may be earned by Boy Scouts in a who participate in an ultimate activity or sporting activity.

A Venture patrol is an optional patrol within a Boy Scout troop for boys 13 to 17 years old. The Venture patrol's youth leader is the Venture patrol leader. The Venture patrol letter is administered by the Assistant Scoutmaster-Venture. A Venture patrol can be a full-time, part-time, or one-time activity.

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Venture patrol letter

The Venture patrol letter is awarded to members of the Venture patrol who participate in an "ultimate activity." Ultimate activities are high-adventure or sports activities that are preceded by training sessions.

Confusion over whether the BSA quietly stopped allowing Venture patrols to earn Venture letters and activity pins persists due to a response to a letter in a 2005 Scouting magazine where the question is asked: "...can boys in a Venture patrol earn the letter available to boys who are members of a Varsity Scout team?". The editor's reply was:

Only Varsity Scouts can earn the program's Varsity letter and Denali Award, although Varsity Scouts also can work toward the Eagle Scout rank and achieve other Scout awards and recognitions.

The response, although technically accurate that Venture patrol members cannot earn a Varsity letter, is misleading in that it omits the fact that Venture patrol members can earn a Venture letter. This is confirmed by the April 17, 2007 Official Boy Scout/Varsity Scout Uniform Inspection Sheet which specifies the official placement of the Venture letter on the merit badge sash.

(Comment: there is no separate letter at this time, nor has there been one at least as far back as year 2000. Research is ongoing. ---Steve Hanson, Austin TX)

Venture patrol letter requirements

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By participating actively in all phases of the Venture Program, you qualify for the Venture letter, which maybe worn on the Scout jacket and/or merit badge sash. Requirements for earning the letter follow:

1. Be a registered Venture Crew member [ed. note: prior to August 1998 and Venturing splitting off from Exploring, Venture patrols were called Venture Crews.]

2. While a crew member, actively participate in or accomplish at least one ultimate adventure (to the satisfaction of your assistant Scoutmaster)

3. Have an attendance record at crew meetings and activity meetings of at least 75 percent for 3 consecutive months.

4. Demonstrate to the assistant Scoutmaster that you know and live by the Scout Oath and Law.

After you complete each ultimate adventure, you are eligible to wear a medallion attached to your letter that represents your completion of the activity. Medallions earned in a Varsity program sport may also be worn on this letter.[ed. note : between 1989 and approx 1995, the Varsity and Venture programs were separate, and medallions were specific to a particular program, i.e. Rock Climbing and Rappelling could only be earned by Venture crew members, and Baseball could only be earned by Varsity team members. In approximately 1995 this changed to allow both program to earn both sets of pins. However all pins were worn on the Varsity/Venture Letter as the letter was called starting in August 1989 when the Venture Crew program replaced the Leadership Corps program.]

Venture patrol activity pins

At the completion of each ultimate activity, one of 26 Venture Activity Pins are awarded and pinned to the Venture patrol letter. Venture patrol activity pins correspond to the 14 Venture program pamphlets and 12 sports Varsity Scout Features pamphlets and other resources.